The Black Canary
by Jenna McKane
Summary: After the undertaking Felicity Smoak left Starling City as just the IT girl. Almost a year later she's come back as the one and only Black Canary. Will Oliver learn to accept Felicity for who she has become or will it become too much for the both of them?
1. Unmasked

**A/N: So about Sarah Lance being the Black Canary, I love it. I think that she's got what is needed to be the Black Canary but my shipper heart just wants Felicity to be all bad ass and amazing (not that she isn't already). So out of that this was born. This starts after the earthquake and follows season two loosely.**

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It was half past midnight when she jumped across the opening between two skyscrapers in Starling City not bothering to look to down because no matter how many times she did this heights still scared her witless. She took a deep breath, gasping for the air her lungs truly needed and looked back. He was close to her, gaining on her quickly but she knew that if she got him to the rooftop ahead of her she'd have the advantages she needed. She took off again, her heeled boots pounding into the ground gaining momentum that she'd use to jump across another set of skyscrapers. This wasn't the first time they'd done this but she knew that this very well could be the last.

With one last quick stride she transferred herself from the building he was on to the building she needed to be on. She continued running until she reached the middle of the building where, suddenly she could no longer run. She looked down to see the he had outsmarted her, proving something she had already known, this is his game that she was playing. He had her bound in the middle of the building, prohibiting her from escaping like she has so many times before.

But before he could talk she employed one of her sonic devices hoping to silence him and scare him off. Unfortunately he jammed it.

"Does it get any louder?" He walked forward, green hood covering most of his face, voice filter on but even with all that she still recognized him.

"Why are you following Thea Queen?"

"I could ask you the same thing, big brother." She said with her strongest voice that she could muster. She was his friend at one point, still considers herself to be, but after tonight she doesn't know how he'll feel. She left, disappeared, let them believe she died the night of the quake. She left, went to the only place that she knew would be equally healing and breaking, Lian Yu. She spent eleven months on the island, learning to live without her babies (mostly), learning to become stronger, learning to give up her innocence and learning to deal with the weight of over 400 hundred deaths falling on her shoulders. No matter months she forced herself to stay on that island the last one would be the hardest no matter what she did.

"Who are you?"

"Once I tell you your life will never be the same."

"I can take it." He said pointedly leaving no room for argument.

"Not this time, Oliver." He looked at her shocked that she knew his identity. He reached forward and pulled off her mask and wig.

He flashed back to just a little over eleven months ago.

_He rushed back the Verdant after leaving Tommy. He felt a rush of sadness and guilt as his name crossed his mind. _

_He was dead and he believed he was a mass murderer. _

_He pushed the thoughts of his dying best friend out of his mind and began to focus on getting to Verdant. Somewhere between deactivating the first device and working to find the second the comms Felicity used went dead. His mind rushed with what ifs? _

_The biggest being, what if she's dead. Within the nine months of knowing the blonde IT spitfire he'd come to care for her deeply, even consider her as a friend. _

_He ran up to Verdant with a terrible feeling. Half of the building was sunk to the ground. The other was in better shape but not by much. He walked to the back of the building and saw his worst nightmare, it suffered the most damage. There was no way that she got out. She had died in there. _

_He gasped and took off his hood before taking a step back looking at her appearance, "Felicity," he went to continue on but she cut in._

"I'll give it time to sink in." Her words ushered him out of the flashback he was in and with that she triggered a sonic boom so she could release herself from the bounds he placed around her and leap off the building into the night.

Oliver lay on the ground stricken with shock. He couldn't believe what was just happened. She was dead. He saw her body, her mangled, destroyed, body. He pulled himself up off the roof he was standing on. He shook his head, still in disbelief.

He clicked his comm link on and connected with Digg, "Did you find out the identity of our masked friend."

"Yes," Oliver took a deep breath and said, "She'd hate what we've done to her computers." Oliver knew he was trying to diffuse tension, make light of the situation but no matter how hard he tried none of this made sense._ Why would she fake her death? Where has she been? How did she go from IT girl to skilled fighter?_

When Oliver arrived at the newly remodeled lair and waited for Digg to say something. "Oliver," He turned to his left and saw his body guard and friend standing there looking for an explanation.

He walked over to the desk that held the computers and sat upon the edge of it before saying it, "It's Felicity."

"What do you mean its Felicity, we buried her eleven months ago!" Diggle demanded.

"You don't think I know that? I lost both of my best friends that night, I remember it quite vividly."

"Oliver," Diggle took a deep breath preparing himself for what he was about to ask, "Are you sure it was Felicity you saw?"

"Digg, it was her! I unmasked her! I think I'd know what she looks like." Oliver ran a hand over his face and inhaled deeply.

"I'm sorry, I just don't understand."

"And you think I do? I saw what I thought to be her body in ways that no person should ever have to." He shuddered at the memory.

"Do you think it was something we did?" Diggle asked.

"It had to be otherwise I don't think she would have left so," he pondered his word choice for a second settling on, "permanently."

"Then why did she come back?"

"She was following Thea. Maybe she found out about the kidnapping?" Oliver questioned.

"Alright but answer me this, where did she go?"

"Somewhere that taught her to be skilled with multiple weapons, agility and hand to hand combat. She's good, you'd be proud." He said.

Diggle nodded. And stood to leave, "What are you going to do about it?"

Before he left he turned around and "Nothing. I'll wait for her to come to me."


	2. Hit and Miss

**A/N: Holy crap! Thank you guys so much for the positive feedback! My inbox was seriously blown up with all the favorites, follows and reviews! Thank you from the body of my heart! Thank you for reading! xoxo Jenn**

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He woke up with a start, someone was in his room. He hadn't heard any of the doors or windows creak nor had he heard the floor creak but he just knew that someone was in his room, he felt their presence. Slowly he rose from his bed facing the darkest part of his room, his closet. Nothing was there. He went to lay back down when something caught his eye. He turned to it and saw that the person in his room was her. It had been three weeks since he'd unmasked her. He spent most of his free time pondering over the whys and what ifs of the whole ordeal. It was irking him, eating him.

"Felicity, what are you doing here."

She took one step out of the shadows into the moonlight. "Here? As in your bedroom or here as back in Starling City?" To him, she still sounded like she did before she...left. But he also found that she spoke with purpose.

"Both."

"I needed to talk to you."

"Why?"

"You deserve some type of explanation."

"Go on."

"I got out just before Verdant crashed and crumbled. I was injured by debris," She pointed to a scar on her arm about two inches in length. "But I managed to get myself on a plane and...away." She inhaled and looked into his eyes hoping that hers portrayed the feelings she was feeling correctly. "As for Starling City, I don't know. I had limited, very limited internet access where I was but I saw that Thea was kidnapped. And I guess I just couldn't let go. I just couldn't."

"We buried you." Oliver said bluntly.

"I'm sorry. I never intended to hurt you or Digg like that. I just, I just couldn't."

"Couldn't do what?"

"I couldn't," Outside his bedroom door their trained ears picked up on walking. Within five seconds the footsteps stopped and they both heard a knocking, "Ollie who are you talking to?"

"I'll get rid of her," he whispered before leaving her in his room.

"Thea, I was just going over a proposal for a meeting I have tomorrow at Verdant."

"You haven't been to Verdant in months."

"Well it hasn't exactly been a pleasant place to be, Speedy" Thea nodded her head understanding the sentiment behind his statement. She knew that Felicity was more than a tech girl to him, she saw how her death crushed him. She said nothing more but gave him a small sympathetic look before retreating back to her bedroom.

He reentered his room only to find that Felicity was nowhere to be seen and their conversation had gotten them no place but two steps past square one. He sighed and looked out his window at the roofs that she most likely used for her escape before lying back down on his bed. He sat in his bed, staring at the ceiling thinking about her. He was fascinated with the 180 she did but also terrified. _Where the hell did Felicity go to come back like this?_ Oliver thought. That question was one that had made its way to the top of his list of questions he wanted ask her, besides why of course.

The next day at the lair he trained, hard with everything he could. He spent hours after the earthquake doing so to try and forget the sorrow he felt when he thought of his best friends. Now he was doing it to solve an unsolvable problem, he knew that he wouldn't be able to solve her. Humans aren't equations, no matter how hard you try there will always be change, sudden and all encompassing, and because of this the sides never came out equal.

So he trained, beating the bag till it needed a break, grappling with Digg, practicing his archery, going at the salmon ladder until behind his eyes he saw her looking up at him like she had done so many times before. Everything seemed to remind him of her, no matter what he did he always thought of her and it was killing him. He wanted to go and find her but he knew she was too smart; she'd stay off the radar until she wanted to be found. And that was what was really killing him, waiting to see Felicity again.

"Oliver," He heard Digg say behind him. He stopped training and looked at him expectantly.

"Have you seen Felicity?" Diggle asked this everyday he came into the lair since he told him who the Black Canary was.

"Last night, she was in the mansion." Oliver stepped off the training mat and walked over to where Diggle was standing.

"What'd she say?" He asked surprised.

"Not much," He shrugged. "Thea interrupted us and she bolted."

"Do you think she'll find you again?"

"I'd like to believe so but I don't think the Felicity we lost is the same as the one she is now."

Diggle nodded to Oliver understanding that this was hard for her. Whatever made her leave was huge and she might not be ready to face it, they understood that things take time.

"I'm going out tonight." Oliver said as he moved around to pick up one of his arrows. He twirled the arrow in his hand idly waiting for Diggle's response.

"Oliver, are you sure?"

After The Undertaking Oliver closed the book, it disgusted him, that book killed his friends, the people that he cared for. There was no way he'd go on to work with it but he couldn't ignore his father so now he operated to save what was left of The Glades. He worked to stop crime that made The Glades an impossible place to live in. Recently though he began to hold back only going out a few times a week at peak crime hours. It was all his mind could handle. "Yes," He nodded at Diggle before beginning the process of becoming The Green Arrow.

He looked out onto The Glades, to the naked eye, at night, it looked almost peaceful. But he knew what was hidden between the buildings, in the alleyways. He knew the true story of The Glades. As if on cue Oliver heard an ear piercing cry come from somewhere nearby. He began running toward the scream and when he was on top of it he scaled down the building to find a girl, no taller than 5" 2' being knocked around by a group of men. When the men spotted him they didn't falter, it was only when Oliver landed a punch on one of the men that they lost all interest in the girl.

"Run, leave." The Green Arrow said to the girl, she ran away from the men without bothering to look back at them.

Oliver began to defend himself against, what he figured out to be ten men, all skilled enough to last a long time.

He delivered blow after blow to the men but he knew that he was getting nowhere and would have to pull out his bow soon. Just as he reached for his bow something caught the thugs eyes, a blonde figure clad in black leather, The Black Canary, leaped across the garbage cans that were in the alley way and to down two men with her Kali staff. Oliver stared at her in awe for a moment; he figured she was good but not that good.

His moment of admiration only lasted a moment before he realized that one of the men was charging at him angry. He skillfully rendered the man unconscious using his bow as a choke hold. After that man there was still seven left, he looked up at Felicity silently asking her to work with him, as a team. She nodded and he took the first blow taking the man down in less time than it takes to fire a gun. Within five minutes a pile of scumbag men laid at their feet.

"You really can fight," He commented, he turned off his voice filter so she heard is voice true. She heard admiration in his voice along with curiosity.

"I can," She affirmed smiling softly.

He nodded, "We need to talk."

Felicity sighed knowing what he wanted to talk about but despite her recent training sometimes her brain-to-mouth filter failed, "How about the lair, tomorrow night?" Felicity questioned.

"Tomorrow night," Oliver agreed. He nodded to her and took off before she had the chance to say another thing, leaving her, for once in recent days, startled by his absence.


	3. Meeting In The Lair

**A/N: Thank you for all your kind words, follows and favorites. You truly make me smile! Hope you like this chapter! **

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Felicity stepped out of the cab and onto the street. She readjusted her blue A-line dress and smoothed her hair over her shoulder. She took a deep breath and realized just how ridiculous she was acting. _Why am I nervous? _She asked herself. Felicity shook another deep breath and let her heels hit the pavement that led to the back entrance of the Queen's family factory. Felicity froze when she reached the door, she almost turned around and walked away but something told her that she needed to do this.

She punched the pin number into the pad and opened the steel door that lead down the stairs to the lair. With great practice her heels made little to no noise while walking down the stairs, she didn't want the boys to know she was there until she was sure that she was actually going to go through with everything. _You're being ridiculous, these guys won't judge you. _When she reached the last step she looked into the lair. It had been updated to look more like a lair and less like a steel factory's basement. She smiled when she saw that the guys kept her work area, they even updated the system to the newest one that was out.

John and Oliver were training in the new training room and she just couldn't help herself but to stare. She only watched for a few moments before having to interject, "Watch for tempo changes, John. While he might look unpredictable but you aren't."

Both men froze immediately at looked at her like a deer caught in the headlights. She smiled and walked over to them. She took a stance next to Oliver and said, "You have a way of playing off of what he's currently doing and he knows that. If you play on what he's going to do next not what he's not doing you'll be able to get an upper hand on him."

They both looked shocked but Digg nodded and accepted her tip. "She's right, you know." Oliver replied.

Felicity smiled when she saw the look of admiration that was plastered on Oliver face. She'd never felt prouder of the new skills she acquired until that moment. "I like what you've done with the place." Felicity said as she walked out of the training room and over to her chair. "Who does your IT work now?" She asked once she sat down.

"You're irreplaceable Felicity." Oliver said as he and Digg walked over to where she was sitting.

"That's the sweetest thing I've heard in eleven months." Felicity said and looked up at the guys. She nodded when she notice their questioning look.

"I'm going to go see Carly. I'll call you tomorrow Oliver." Diggle said as he walked to the stairs that led outside.

Oliver nodded and turned his attention back to Felicity, "Where did you go?"

"North China." Felicity answered and almost immediately regretted it as the look across Oliver's face was enough to break the heart of a train assassin.

"No," Oliver said and walked toward her. "Please tell me you didn't."

"Oliver," she said softly. She placed her arms on his and said. "I had to."

"Nobody _has_ to go through something like that, Felicity." Oliver looked down at her, his eyes showed pain. Pain he knew that she felt during those eleven months.

"Oliver I'm responsible for over 400 deaths, there is no way I could go on knowing that every day without doing something to help the people who were affected by The Undertaking." Felicity took a deep breath and ran her hands over her skirt, "Going there felt like the best option."

"Talking to me would have been the best option."

"And what would you have said? It's not my fault? I couldn't have done anything?" She asked in her loud voice. "Oliver it _is_ my fault, I couldn't do what you asked me to and now there are hundreds of people dead."

"Felicity, Malcolm Merlyn and my mother are the ones who contracted the earthquake machine and had it placed within The Glades, not you."

"But I couldn't save them."

"You saved so many people Felicity. Imagine what would have happened if you didn't stop the first earthquake machine." Felicity nodded to him softly as he walked toward her. "You saved so many people's lives."

Oliver stopped in front of her chair and squatted down, "You went to purgatory so you could come back and help the people of The Glades?"

"Yes, I wanted to do something, say I'm sorry but also prove that I really am."

"I already see that you are Felicity. But you said you came back because of Thea."

"I did, I wasn't going to come back until next month but when I heard that Thea was kidnapped I couldn't just ignore it. So I came back."

Felicity looked into Oliver's eyes, laid her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. She knew that asking for forgiveness is one of the hardest things to do but she didn't know if he actually would forgive her. She caused him unthinkable pain, he thought she was dead, she led him to believe she was dead, "Oliver, I'm so sorry. I was being selfish when I left but I had to do it and I'd do it again if asked. But Oliver, I'm sorry for the pain I caused you. There wasn't a day that went by when I wasn't thinking about you."

"Felicity, I'm not mad at you for leaving, I understand that you did what you felt to be right. I mourned you every day, Felicity, I lost you and now I'm just glad you're back."

"So you're not mad at me?"

"No, Felicity, I'm not mad at you."

Oliver smiled softly and touched the arm that Felicity had lying across his shoulder. She looked at him with tears in her eyes before she leaned forward softly and asked, "Can I hug you?" He nodded and she silently hugged him. She breathed his scent, the one she missed so much and came undone. She cried in his arms clutching him. She cried not only for herself but for the people she hurt, all of them and most of all she cried for the pain she caused Oliver.

They stayed like that until Felicity's cries were all but occasional mews. "Thank you, Oliver." She said with a teary filled voice. He nodded but didn't move. Neither of them did. They were content to stay right where they were in the middle of the lair floor.

She was nearly asleep and his rhythmic heart beat was lulling her in. "Oliver, I don't have a place to stay." Felicity said with a groggy voice as he continued to rub circles on her back.

"You can stay at the mansion." Oliver said without putting any thought into it. Felicity smiled a soft smile and mouthed thanks. Oliver put his mouth next her ear and softly whispered to her, "We can leave now if you'd like." She nodded and he didn't hesitate to pick her up and take her nearly asleep form up the stairs and out to the car. He placed her in the car and smiled softly when she curled into the backseat. He drove to the mansion in comfortable silence and when he arrived he carried her up to his bedroom and laid her down in his bed. He was almost out the door when he heard her quietly ask, "Stay?" He nodded and joined her on the bed. She immediately turned into him making him smile and for the first time in a long time they both felt safe.


	4. Meeting The Team-Again

**A/N: Hi guys! I hope all my fellow Americans take the time to thank a solider today. They have done so much for our country and without them I can't imagine what this country would be like.**

** I hope you like this chapter. As always I'm so grateful for your responses. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. **

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Darkness was never her friend, she was always afraid of it. Some said it was silly but she said they were silly. In the dark you don't know what is there, you don't have any control, you're a sitting duck. When she closes her eyes, the world she fills with light becomes dark. She sees the evil she pushes away when her eyes are filled with light. She sees all the things she longs to forget.

_The building shook violently around her, pieces of it began to fall. The second device, the one she couldn't find, detonated. The Glades were going to crumble at the hands of Malcolm Merlyn and it was already too late. _

_The building's shaking got worse and debris fell from the building onto the floor of the lair. She wasn't safe, not anymore. She stood up grabbed her bag with everything she'd need and started to make her way toward the door, when she was about ten feet away a piece of debris, the size of a computer screen fell in front of her. She screamed, tears filled her eyes but she stepped over the debris and kept on walking to the door. _

_When she reached the door another piece of debris fell, this time on her. She screamed in agony and looked at her arm. It would need stitches, she could already tell that. She screwed her eyes shut for a moment before moving again toward the door handle. She opened it and saw a sight that nearly killed her. _

_People were running around, people were crying, some over bodies of loved ones. _

"_This is my fault." She said to herself. Her voice was full of tears, pain and sorrow. She tentatively stepped out of the shadow the building was casting and took one last look it. "I'm sorry Oliver," she cried. "Oliver, I'm sorry. This is my fault." She cried where she stood for a moment but left with just her bag and the memories she would have till she died. _

Oliver looked at the blonde lying next to him. She was thrashing about and crying out incoherent things.

"I'm sorry Oliver," he heard her say. He saw her squeeze her eyes shut even more than they already were and she turned away from him.

His heart pained when he saw just how bad she was affected by what had happened. He couldn't dare to let her go on with the nightmare he knew she was having, "Felicity." He said as he shook her shoulder. When she didn't wake up, he tried again a little bit louder, "Felicity," he said.

When he tried for a third time she finally woke up but he didn't take her recent changes into account. He ended up on his back on the bed with her straddling him and her hand placed on his throat, ready to do damage. "Felicity," he spoke softly. "You're safe, it's me, Oliver."

It took her a moment before recognition passed across her face. "Oh my God, Oliver," she said. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that."

"It's my fault," Oliver said. "I did the same thing to my mother when I first came home." He smirked before continuing, "Well almost the same thing."

Felicity blushed when she realized that she was straddling him on his bed. "I'm sorry." She replied again slightly embarrassed. She rolled off him taking a seat next to him.

"Want to talk about the nightmare you were having?"

"Oliver," she sighed. "I don't do well with my eyes closed."

He nodded his understanding and placed a hand on her knee, "If you ever need to talk to someone, I'm here. I still mean what I said."

"Oliver," She asked. Her voice was nervous, like she was afraid of overstepping. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yes," he said looking at her. She was looking at her hands that were balled up in her lap.

"You lied. You told us that the island was empty, that everyone you had met on it had died."

Oliver locked eyes with her and said, "That wasn't a question."

"Why did you lie?" She amended.

"I honestly believed it to be empty when I left."

"It wasn't," she said softly. "And everyone knew who you were, Oliver."

Oliver couldn't help himself, "Who taught you to fight?"

"Multiple people, people both good and bad."

"Who, Felicity," He asked again with a harsh voice.

"Oliver, I can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"They made me promise to never tell you."

"Are they still on the island?"

"Nobody is on Lain Yu anymore." She said, sadness filling her voice.

He nodded and they sat silent for a few long moments before he got out of his bed and started to walk out of his room. "I'll be right back. Try waiting till I'm back this time." He quipped lightly as he made his way out.

Oliver walked to his sister's room and knocked on the door. "Ollie, it's not even noon yet, what are you doing up?" He heard Thea mumble from inside.

"I have a visitor," he said.

"Ew, I don't need to know that."

He ignored her and continued on with his original line of questioning, "You met her once, Thea. I think you guys are similar in size, would you mind if she borrowed something of yours?"

"Who is this girl?" Thea asked with a smirk on her face.

"You met her when Walter was in the hospital."

"The blonde?" Thea asked.

"Her name is Felicity, yes."

"I liked her."

"You didn't say two words to her." Oliver pointed out.

"She made you smile." Thea said like it was the only thing that mattered. Oliver smiled internally. She always made him smile with everything she did.

"Wait, Oliver, I thought she died the night of the Undertaking?" Oliver ignored the question. It was one he didn't know how to answer.

"Speedy, will you give me something she can wear?"

"Of course." Thea popped out of bed and walked to closet. She spent a few moments in her closet and came out with a full outfit. "This should work, if not I have something else."

"Thanks, Speedy. I'm sure it'll be fine."

He walked back into his room to find her sitting with his iPad. She didn't look up when he came in but she knew he was there. "I asked Thea to give me some clothes for you to wear for today."

"Are we going somewhere?"

"To meet Digg and Roy."

"Roy?"

"He joined up a few months after you…left"

"What does he do?"

"He's back up."

"Does she know?"

"No, he won't tell her."

Felicity nodded and held out her hands for the clothes he grabbed from Thea. She walked into his bathroom and changed. She took only five minutes and emerged with her hair up in a ponytail, wearing black skinny jeans and an emerald green peplum top.

"Where are we meeting them?"

"Verdant," Oliver said.

"I want to talk to you about something first," Felicity said walking toward him.

"What?"

"When we get to Verdant, I'll explain."

The lair was dark and the computers were humming when they arrived. Felicity turned on the lights and put her bag down on the floor.

"Oliver, I'm no longer just tech support."

"What do you mean?"

"You and I fought a group of thugs together. You know that I can fight but I have a feeling that you see me fit to go back to being just tech support."

"Felicity," he said with a steady voice, "You have proved yourself against thugs in the Glades. We'll wait and see."

"Oliver, care to tell me why am I here at half past ten on my day off?" Roy Harper asked on his way down the stairs to the lair.

"Who's the girl?"

"Felicity Smoak," She said as she held out her hand to him. "It's nice to officially meet you."

"Officially?"

"Uh, yeah, I met you when I saved your ass. I mean ,when I save you from the thugs trying to attack you. Although I did save your ass but not literally because your ass is fine and doesn't need saving. And I'll just shut up now." Felicity stopped talking and blushed slightly.

Roy laughed and blushed slightly, "You're the girl who has been running around The Glades beating the crap out of low lives?"

"That's me."

"I thought you were dead."

"No, but I'm not going any further until Digg gets here."

"He's here." John Diggle said as he walked down the stairs. "Let's talk."

"I got out on the night of The Undertaking." Felicity said quietly.

"Who was in the rubble then?"

"I have no idea."

"Where did you go?" Roy asked

"It's not important, Roy." Oliver said.

"Oliver, I don't jump in on your stories. North China." Roy didn't understand the significance but John did. He nodded silently to her then asked, "Why come back?"

"To save The Glades."

"Look, I don't want to spend all day repeating myself. So, what are you working on?"

"Up until three weeks ago, figure out who you were." Felicity nodded and waited.

"Oliver," Roy said. "We should."

"No."

"Yes. You said that the only person you know with enough knowledge to access those files, was Felicity. And unless you know another Felicity, she's right here."

"What?" Felicity asked.

"We're tracking down someone who has a tie to local gangs and is stepping in the way of local law enforcement." Roy said. Oliver shot him a glare that said they weren't done.

"Okay, but what do you need me for?"

"This person is off the radar. They cover their tracks so well that you are the only person who I know would be able to find this man."

"Thank you,"

"What's his name?"

"We don't know." John said.

"What do you know?"

"Everything we know is on your computer." Oliver said.

Felicity walked over to her computer and sat down beginning to look for the man the boys were describing.

"I'm glad you're back, Felicity." John said softly as he watched her type away at her computer.

She turned her head back to John and said, "Me too, John, me too." She truly was happy that she was home. She just hoped that with each bit they began to learn they would like her just as much as before.


	5. In the Lair, on the Mat

**A/N: This chapter went a different way than I thought it was going to but I'm not complaining. As always thank you for all your support. **

**P.S. highlander348, I hope I did that scene justice...**

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The lair used to be a safe place, she used to know exactly what was lurking around every cold dark corner, but now, after spending so much time in a place that's name literally translates to purgatory, and the lair was a scary place. She was hyper aware of every noise, movement and subtle change that happened around her. This caused her to realize that the lair was not a quiet place, it was a steel factory that housed a club and an underground vigilante cave, quiet was a foreign concept. Ever since she came back she realized that doing her work alone in the lair was not her favorite thing.

It was a ridiculous thing to say, she could fight men three times her size, use a Kali staff and survive a building crumbling around but the sounds in the lair made her nervous, paranoid even. She jumped subtly every time the door opened and even worse she jumped every time Oliver came within ten feet of her. She knew it was because of the island, she knew that she would drive herself crazy if she didn't tell somebody about it but she just couldn't bring herself to vocalize the thoughts that went on in her head.

She buried herself in her work, trying to ignore her paranoia and find anything, everything she could find on the man the boys were looking for. Everything was a far stretch from what she actually had. She knew more than the boys had but she didn't know enough to stop him from doing any damage.

Oliver walked down the stairs nearly silent, he watched Felicity work for a moment. She typed like she was annoyed, like she had hit another dead end. "Felicity," Oliver said to her as she continued to type.

Felicity jumped a little and turned her chair around to face him, "Oliver, what are you doing down here? I mean it's your lair and all but you're normally still up in the club at this time of night or at least that's how I remember it. Not that I spent a lot of time remembering you when I gone. I didn't forget you either but I didn't spend my limited free time thinking about your face," Felicity babbled.

Oliver smiled at her babbling. He missed it when she was gone. He was starting to cherish every little thing she did now that she was back and he knew how badly it hurt to lose her. "Felicity, I understand, I do. I'm a hard face to forget," He quipped lightly. She smiled at him and began to relax into her chair again, "I came down here because Roy mentioned that you were here working on intel for the man we're looking for."

"Oh, I found something."

"What is it Felicity?"

"His name is Jack, I have no last name but I do know that he's not only standing in the way of law enforcement, he's also paying off cops, at least half a dozen of them."

"Do you know anything else?"

"His next meeting with a cop is tomorrow night at eight," She said with an annoyed tone.

"What cop?"

"I don't know," Felicity said looking down at her lap.

Oliver looked at her confused and tried another angle, "Where's the meet?"

"I have nothing else."

"What do you mean you have nothing else?" Oliver asked perplexed.

"I mean that I have no more information to give you on our new friend Jack," Felicity said annoyed.

"How is that possible?"

"He's better than you thought he was," Felicity said as she moved to get out of her chair. What she didn't say was that he's better than she is. She was good but this guy's skills would trump hers almost any day.

"Is there anything you can do?"

"Oliver, right now, I can't do a thing. Actually I haven't really done a thing. Everything I found, which is really nothing, was stuff you already had. I just went a bit deeper." Felicity interjected getting really agitated with the whole case.

"Felicity, how is that possible?"

"He's good. He's really freaking good."

Felicity sighed, she was being outsmarted and she did not like it. She was almost at her breaking point and she knew she had to do something about it. Her normal, pre-Undertaking, reaction would have been to go home and watch a good movie but since she didn't really have a home, she figured that she could put her body to work. She could practice some fighting without her Kali staff and work on her strength. She could even do the salmon ladder if time permitted.

"Where are you going?" Oliver asked as he watched Felicity walk away from her desk and toward the training room.

"To work out," Felicity said easily. She looked at him, he looked skeptical, almost as if he didn't believe her. "What?"

"You want to work out?"

"It's therapeutic sometimes. If I focus hard enough on the moves my mind ignores everything else that's going on."

"Do you want a partner?" Oliver asked. He walked toward her

"Don't you have a club to make appearances in?" Felicity asked. She knew that Oliver would be a great partner but didn't want to ask him, she fear that he wouldn't see what she could, just what she couldn't.

"I already made my rounds."

"Uh, sure. I mean, yes, a partner would be fabulous." Felicity said slightly nervous. She knew that she could work alongside him in a fight, she had already done that but working against him, she wasn't so sure.

"Let me go change," Oliver nodded as a small smirk played across his lips.

When he walked out five minutes later she was on the mat of the training room, wearing yoga pants and a sports bra. She was stretching her left leg; she was incredibly flexible from what he gathered. She was able to lay her head on her knee, no matter what leg stretch she was doing.

"Are you going to join me, or just stand there and stare?"

Oliver smirked and said nothing. Instead he walked onto the mat and began to stretch his muscles. She looked at him through the current stretch she was doing. She seemed to be taking all of him in, she looked like she was analyzing everything he was doing.

They stretched in near silence for about ten minutes. It was a comfortable silence, neither forced nor awkward, just there. When they finally did stand up, it became awkward. Felicity didn't know what to do and she suspected that Oliver didn't either.

"Should we just have at it," Oliver smirked at the words she uttered and she blushed with embarrassment. He was glad that she didn't totally change because of the island.

"I'd like to see what you can do," Oliver said as he walked to the right side of the mat.

"Alright," Felicity said and waited for him to charge at her. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to use any easy moves on him. She'd have to do things that he would do and waiting was one of them. He sensed it and smiled, she was smart.

He charged at her trying to grab her midsection but she nimbly moved out of the way only slightly but turned herself around and crouched down so that Oliver could roll right off her onto the floor.

He hit the floor with a thud, a smile played lightly on his lips but he wasn't letting her win that easy. He knocked her left leg out from underneath her and expected her to fall to the mat. When she did she made sure to position herself on her knees so that Oliver wouldn't have the advantage anymore.

She waited only a fraction of a second before she charged at him. She went behind him and threw him into a head lock, but Oliver was smarter he had anticipated what she was going to do and flipped her over his shoulder immediately. She landed on her feet, much to his surprise and she smirked up at him.

Oliver made the first move again and attacked her, this time trying to surprise her with an actual blow but she ducked and weaved each one throwing two for every single punch he delivered. Her punches weren't as powerful as his but she knew where to punch. She also had no pattern whatsoever, just going with all the punches he threw.

She suddenly changed her speed. She turned on her heels ducking away from the punch he was throwing and slowed down delivering an open palmed blow to the jaw. It wasn't meant to hurt and it didn't but it did shock him.

She was good. She was almost too good.

Oliver decided to step up his game. "Grab a weapon," he said with a slight smirk in his voice. He was breathing heavily, as was she. They grabbed a drink of water and a weapon. Much to his surprise, she didn't grab a Kali stick but a short stick.

Oliver nodded to her and they took their sides on the mat. It took ten seconds before somebody made a move. Felicity charged at him almost ignoring that he had his bow in front of him defensively. She knocked his bow making it twirl. He leaned back away from the bow and she landed a blow to him on the ribs. She looked sorry when the stick made contact but she didn't stop.

She moved to his right and sidestepped the blow he was trying to deliver. She knew that he didn't want to hit her and frankly his bow looked like it hurt more than her steel Kali stick. There was no way she was getting hit with that. With the stick she blocked everything he tried to give until he aimed for her knee, instead of dodging the blow she returned it back to. His bow hit his knee with a loud whack that made her cringe; he would have a large bruise there.

Oliver changed his pace and attempted to make contact with Felicity's shoulder but she just ducked under his bow. For twenty minutes, which seemed like nothing to them, this went on. Nobody was getting anywhere but they were both getting tired.

Felicity sensed it first; she realized that if she was getting tired that he would soon be tired too. She kept up with him until she laid her stick along her stomach. She was waiting for him to take a blow at her. She waited for only a few moments and he did exactly what she wanted, he tried to knock her stick out of her hand but instead she twisted and knocked his bow to the ground.

It clattered in defeat as it hit the floor.

Felicity put her hands on her knees, breathing heavily and looked up at him.

"That was good," Oliver said before he took a drink of water.

She nodded and motioned for him to throw her the bottle he was drink out of. He tossed it and she caught it gracefully. She poured the water into her mouth and tossed it back to him and nodded her thanks. "I've had better partners," she bantered lightly.

"Oh yeah like who?"

"See I'd say Diggle but we both know that's not true." Felicity and Oliver laughed together. They smiled at each other and then she got serious when she said, "Slade and Shado."


	6. Aftermath

**A/N: Thank you for all your support and love! I appreciate it! If you have read a chapter six that was PUBLISHED 11/29, this is NOT the same one. They are drastically different. **

**UPDATE 12/2: Since I have received so many questions about this I thought I should tell you that if you have read the old chapter six, please ignore what happened in it. It will no longer be relevant in this story! Thank you and sorry for any confusion! ALSO, I APOLOGIZE TO THOSE OF YOU EXPECTING A NEW CHAPTER, I JUST HAPPENED TO GET TOO MANY EMAILS AND HAD TO ADDRESS THIS. Don't fret though there will be two new chapters (if all goes accordingly) this week! (:**

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When Oliver heard what Felicity said, he almost immediately left to go back to the mansion. At first Felicity called after him trying to explain to him what she meant but he wouldn't have any of it. So she stayed at the lair working on finding anything she could about their new fiend Jack. About an hour and a half into the research Felicity got a new idea, a different angle to try.

Felicity walked over to the drawers that used to hold the technology they used for missions. She held her breath hoping that Oliver didn't move things around, because she didn't want to call him. He needed space to deal with what she had dropped on his plate. It wasn't like she just told him that she isn't really a blonde (which she isn't), no she dropped a bombshell that needed time to be digested. When she opened the drawer she was glad to see that Oliver didn't move anything around, she grabbed the cell phone they used to communicate with Detective Lance and went to her computer. After making sure the voice filter was still running she dialed the number for Detective Lance.

"Detective Lance," she said when he picked up the phone. Felicity was glad that she and Detective Lance had some type of relationship because otherwise finding a way to catch Jack would be nearly impossible. The man was good, too good. He knew exactly how to evade all tracking software and traces.

She heard him give a muffled excuse to whoever he was with and then she heard him walking for a few moments before he addressed her, "Its officer now. Why are you calling?"

"I need your help." Felicity waited while Detective Lance went silent.

'Why would I help you?" Detective Lance asked.

"Detective Lance, because of what I do you helped save half the Glades."

He stayed silent for a moment before she heard him mutter under his breath. A moment after that he said, "What do you need?"

"Thank you Detective," Felicity said as she pulled up information on Jack. "I need you to tell me the names of the officers who won't be in the building or on patrol at eight tomorrow evening, please."

"And why can't you do that yourself? Or have Miss Smoak do it?'

Felicity froze at the mention of her name, she was thought that Starling City believed she was dead. Oliver said they buried her, why was Lance talking about her like she was still alive. "SCPD is still in the stone age, they punch in and out using actual time cards. There is no way to hack a machine that isn't electronic."

"I see and how would you like this information to be given to you?"

"Call this number," Felicity typed away at the computer that sat in front of her and she pulled up a system to text Detective lance. She heard his phone buzz just moments after she sent it.

"I guess I'll talk to you then," Detective Lance said as Felicity began to gather her things up in her purse.

"Thank you, Detective," Felicity said into the microphone before pulling it off of her head and placing it on the table. She put the phone she was using inside her purse, just in case and got out her personal cell phone to call Diggle.

"John," she said when he answered the phone. "I'm sorry to call so late but Oliver and I had a bit of a disagreement and he was my ride."

"Felicity, what did he do?" Diggle asked. Felicity heard the clatter of keys and she thanked him silently because although she could handle herself in The Glades now the trek from The Glades to The Queen's home was not one that she wished to make.

"Oliver did nothing, it was me, Digg."

"Are you sure?" He asked. She grateful for John and the concern he always showed, he was like a big brother to her.

"I'm sure, John." She smiled into her phone as she sat back down in the comfy chair at her desk.

"Where are you?"

"The lair."

"When Roy left at six for Thea's he told me you were still there. If you're still there, did you get the information we needed?"

"I, well technically The Arrow, called in a favor." Felicity said. She heard Diggle start his car and switch over to Bluetooth. She listened as he mumbled about the traffic at two in the morning. She chuckled softly before adding on, "I should have what we need by tomorrow night."

"That's good." John paused and took a deep breath that she heard echo through the Bluetooth, "So what did you and Oliver have a disagreement about exactly?"

"See John, if I were to tell you, I'd have to kill you." Felicity said jokingly.

She heard his laugh and smiled, "Ouch, I'm hurt."

"A big bad solider like you, hurt by little old me? I should call your superior."

"Oh, I think you're more dangerous than you're leading on Felicity. Roy's afraid of you." Diggle kept his tone light and joking. She chuckled at the thought of Roy Harper, native to The Glade, being afraid of her.

"Really? Then that kid needs some work." Felicity joked.

"I agree with you there, Felicity. I'm out back."

"I'm on my way up." Felicity said as she stood up and walked up the flight of stairs that led to the back door. When she stepped outside she put the security code back in place and let the warm air surround her. She thought about the nights she wished to be back in Starling City, she thought about that she was crying because all she wanted was to be warm again. Sure the island was alright in the summer, but in the winter it was cold, colder than California anyway. She thought about what she was going to say to Oliver when arrived at the Queen's mansion, if he let her. She thought about how bad it hurt when she saw the look on Oliver's face when she told him.

She walked over to Diggle's car and got into the passenger side. She watched as he turned the air off and put the car into reverse backing out of the old steel plant's parking lot. They were silent until they reached what seemed to be the longest red light in town. Felicity looked at her hands and then looked over at him and said, "Digg," she took a deep breath, "John, I'm sorry."

He looked at her confused so she continued onward, "I hurt you and I never apologized for that. I made a selfish move and ended up hurting you. I'm sorry."

"Felicity, I don't blame you for what you did. It hurt yes, but you did what you needed to do and you came back, that's all that matters."

"Thank you, John." He nodded and the light turned green. Her heart felt a little bit lighter and she felt almost ready to have the conversation with Oliver that she knew was coming.

When he pulled into the winding driveway of the Queen's mansion, Felicity began to get nervous; she worried about all the things that he would ask her and what would happen when she answered, if she answered.

"Can you do me a favor? Would you mind staying here until I'm actually inside?"

"Do you think he's not going to let you in?"

"I hope not but, he was pretty mad at me when he stormed out of the factory so I wouldn't be surprised if he did."

Felicity stepped out of the car and walked up to the doors of the mansion before Diggle could say anything else to her. She held out her hand to knock on the door but hesitated, the "what ifs" running through her mind were tormenting her. She could bear to lose Oliver as a friend or as partner but with what was going to happen she wasn't sure how much he would car for her afterwards.

When her hand finally hit the door in three quick knocks, she wished that she could take them back but sooner than she hoped Oliver opened the door for her. "Opening your own door Mr. Queen? Should I call The Daily Planet?"

"I asked the workers to leave. Thea's at Roy's place." Oliver said in a short tone that could only mean one thing, he was beyond angry with her.

'I'm sure you enjoy that." Felicity remarked, he smirked a tiny bit and she sobered up, "We should talk."

"I agree," Oliver moved to let her and she turned around to wave to Diggle. when she did he drove off and she couldn't help but watch the tail lights of his car get smaller and wish she was sitting in that car.

She walked into the mansion and remained silent. Her eyes were focused on taking in the place that he called home. The pictures on the table in front of her caught her eye. There were pictures of all the Queen family members, most of them were recent but there were a few that looked pre-island. She stopped when she saw the picture of Oliver's father standing next to The Queen's Gambit. She was startled that a picture of The Queen's Gambit was sitting there with all their happy memories.

Oliver said nothing to her, just led her into the sitting room to the right of the door. The hand he placed on her lower back set her skin on fire. She couldn't believe what one simple touch would do. She couldn't believe what he could do to her.

"You said we should talk so talk." Oliver said as he turned to face her.

"I'm not sure what you want me to say Oliver."

"Slade and Shado." Oliver gritted out. "They're alive?"

Felicity didn't answer but looked at him and watched as his anger grew. "Felicity," Oliver all but shouted. It made her jump; he had rarely raised his voice to her. She saw why criminals were so easy to back down when he was speaking, it was scary. "Answer me."

"I can't. I've already told you too much. If they found out that I told you, I'd be dead either way." Felicity stood still as Oliver watched her.

"You're lying." Oliver said to her and she took a step back. He was now shouting at her every time he spoke and it was making her nervous.

"I've never lied to you Oliver," Felicity said to him in disbelief. She couldn't believe that he would say something that farfetched to her.

"You did."

"What? Oliver, I have never lied to you, never."

"Up until last month you've been lying to me for almost a year."

Felicity gasped and said, "Oliver, I left. I never lied to you."

"Lies of omission are still lies."

Felicity froze and looked at Oliver. His anger was unmistakable. She couldn't believe that he was bringing that up again. She thought they had settled that, it was settled. "I never meant to hurt you, Oliver. I told you that." Felicity's voice broke as she said it. She had never dealt with being on the side of Oliver's anger in this magnitude. Sure she's dealt with other people's but his, never and frankly it scared her deeply. "But, Oliver, I am not lying to you now." Felicity put extra emphasis on the word "not" hoping that Oliver would understand her.

"Felicity, how do I know that you're telling the truth?"

"Oliver, I wish I could just say trust me and you would. There was a point in time when that would have ended any argument." Felicity looked at him and saw his face soften slightly, so she continued, "I've broken so many promises by coming back to Starling City and telling you what I already did. Oliver, I promise, I swear to you that I am not lying."

Oliver stared at her taking in what she had just said. He wasn't she what to think but his gut told him to trust felicity, she hadn't failed him yet. He learned a long time ago that his gut is rarely wrong so he nodded at Felicity and then asked, "One day you'll tell me everything?"

Felicity was surprised at the 180 Oliver's mood had done but grateful for it. Felicity nodded to Oliver and said, "As will you."

Felicity yawned and Oliver chuckled. He guided her to the stairs that led to his room and walked up them together in almost silence. When they got to his room they changed into nightwear and went to lie down. Just before Felicity went to lie down she looked at Oliver and said, "I might have a way to find Jack." He nodded to her but said, "We can talk shop in the morning." With that they both lay down in bed and hoped for a night without demons flooding their subconscious.


	7. Where You Belong

**A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'd love to hear your favorite parts of this chapter! **

**Thank you to kindleflame5, highlander348, and WinterRain36 for a bout of inspiration! **

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Felicity lied on Oliver's bed trying to fall back asleep but nothing worked. She knew she was stupid to think that something would work, especially after everything she had done; sleep just brought those memories back to the forefront. She sat up and looked out his window, it was nearly six in the morning and she had gotten only an hour of sleep at most but Starling City looked rested. It looked ready for the day, ready for whatever so-called master mind tried to take it down.

Oliver stirred when Felicity stepped out of the bed they had shared. She smiled softly when he moved over into the space her body just vacated but didn't give him a second look before going into the bathroom that was connected to Oliver's suite. She washed her face, removing all traces of makeup she had put on the day before and brushed her teeth. When she stepped out of the bathroom Oliver was still asleep and she took a moment to really look at him.

He looked relaxed, like all the tension he felt when he was awake was no longer there. It made her smile and wonder if she too looked like that when she was asleep. She wondered if her tension and stress was visible to Oliver just like his was to her.

Felicity brought herself out of her thoughts and navigated her way through the house into the kitchen. Rasia was in the kitchen moving around cooking what looked to be an omelet.

"Good Morning," Rasia said as Felicity walked into the kitchen. She stopped cooking for a moment to grab what looked like chopped up bell peppers before turning back around to the stove.

"Uh, good morning." Felicity said as she looked around the kitchen. It looked as if she was cooking food for every Queen for at least the next week.

"Can I get you anything?" Rasia asked when she spotted Felicity looking around.

"Do you have any granola?"

Rasia smiled and walked to the cupboard that held their dry cereal and produced a small bowl of granola for Felicity. Felicity smiled to her and took the bowl from her and began to walk out of the kitchen. "Ma'am," Rasia called.

Felicity turned around and looked at her questioningly. She waited for Raisa to speak. "Should I expect you for dinner?"

"I'm not sure, but would you mind telling Oliver that I'm at the factory." She didn't want Oliver to think that she'd bailed on him or worse that she had left again but she needed to get out of the Queen's house.

"Yes Miss…"

"Smoak," Felicity replied and smiled at Raisa as she left the Queen's Kitchen and home.

When Felicity arrived at the factory a little past seven she wasn't expecting to see Diggle already there with Roy in the training room. Felicity walked in and watched as Roy used an amateur move against Diggle that landed him on his back. Roy looked defeated and he reminded her of the woman she was almost a year ago. The first time she had trained with Slade she ended up with a nasty cut that took weeks to heal, she knew that Roy would be in epic pain tomorrow if she stepped in but she couldn't let this amateur be out there with Oliver. He would get him killed in an instant.

"Roy," both heads snapped to Felicity and he waited for her to talk, "Want a new partner?"

Roy looked hesitant; he looked to Diggle who nodded. Roy sighed, a sigh that took trained ears to detect and nodded to Felicity.

"Let me change and then we can train," Felicity said as she walked away to change. Felicity had a smile on her face but Diggle had a look that scared Roy.

Felicity walked out a few moments later and walked over to Roy who was still standing on the mat. She looked at him and took a step back then called over to Diggle, "How much training have you done with him?"

"Enough, considering that he's scared of you." He responded to her with a slight smirk on his face.

Felicity smiled and turned toward Roy, "I want you to come at me. Don't think just do."

Roy nodded and took a deep breath before moving toward Felicity. He charged forward trying to take her by her midsection. Felicity moved out of the way and landed a punch that made him fall backwards a few steps.

"That was good, if you're going after muggers in The Glade but if you actually plan on going out with Oliver you're gonna have to know better than to be predictable."

Roy nodded and took a step back. Felicity took a deep breath and looked at Roy, she saw determination and skill in him that she wasn't going to let go to waste. "I want you to try to take down me like you would try to take down Oliver."

Roy charged at her this time using far more advanced skills than he had before. He had looked at her skeptically when she told him to charge at her and now she realized that it was because she was a _girl._ Roy managed to get Felicity in a head lock but she just flipped him right over so he landed on his back staring up at her.

Roy looked tired and he reminded her so much of the woman she once was. The way he was so determined but didn't exactly have the skills screamed the old Felicity. "Are you done?" Roy asked and Felicity just smirked at him and took a stance by the far side of the mat.

Felicity watched as Roy stood up and took a similar stance and waited for her to say something. But Felicity surprised him when she charged him. Roy lasted only two moments before Felicity had him pinned to the ground and Diggle was on the sidelines clapping for her and laughing at Roy.

Felicity stood up and saw that John was looking at her with the utmost respect. He looked in awe of the person she had become, she just whished that Oliver could see her that way.

"Hey, Diggle did you happen to hear a phone ring?" She asked as she took a drink of water and moved out of the training room.

Diggle looked confused but answered nonetheless, "Uh about fifteen minutes ago. A phone from inside your purse rang."

"Thanks," Felicity said as she walked over to her bag and pulled out the cell phone she had used to call Detective Lance, she had a missed call and a voicemail. She called to view the voicemail he left and listened,

"_I have the names that you wanted. When would you like them?" _It sounded like he was whispering but Felicity made him out just fine. Felicity walked over to her desk, sat down and grabbed the microphone she was using the night before and hooked it up.

She dialed the number and waited until he picked up, "Officer Lance."

"Yes, Detective Lance I think you have something for me?"

"It wasn't easy but I got it." Felicity sighed an internal sigh of relief at his words. She was that much closer to finding out exactly who their new friend Jack was.

"Thank you Detective, I will send someone to meet with you."

"How will I know who it is?" Detective Lance asked.

Felicity had a smile on her face as she said, "Oh you'll know. We'll meet tonight at 6 at the precinct."

Felicity didn't waste time and ended the call with Detective Lance only to turn around and see Oliver and the others standing there watching her. Oliver looked at her ridiculously like she had suddenly grown three horns and an extra eye.

"I called in a favor last night to help us figure out who Jack is. I set up a meet with Detective Lance to give me the information I asked for." She said filling them all in on the side of the conversation they hadn't heard.

"Who is going to be meeting with him?" Roy asked from where he was standing beside Oliver.

"I'll go. I know the information we need it just makes sense for me to go." Felicity watched as Oliver began to tighten his hands into fists. She knew what he was going to say she just didn't know that he had the nerve to say it, especially after what they had gone through the night before.

"No, Felicity."

"No?" Felicity repeated his words back to him like she had done so many times before but this time she was really annoyed with the fact that he didn't trust her to be strong enough to go out and make the meet.

"You shouldn't be the one to go."

Felicity looked at him like he was ridiculous. "Felicity, it's too dangerous."

Felicity scoffed and looked at Diggle and Roy. They had taken a step back from their previous positions no longer in the conversation, just observing the two. "And Lain Yu is a walk in the park?" It was the first time she had mentioned the island in front of Diggle and Roy, they both gasped and she guessed that they had been told enough to know that she was saying was true. Lain Yu was not a walk in the park.

Felicity looked at Oliver and hoped that her eyes conveyed that she wasn't going to back down. He said nothing for a moment then said, "You don't belong in the field, Felicity."

That's when Felicity couldn't handle it anymore and she decided to use her loud voice, "Oliver, are you kidding me? You're saying that I belong at the computers, really? Is that what you think? Well newsflash Oliver, I beat you. I took you down, if I remember correctly. I can handle myself."

Oliver stood still and said nothing. Felicity hoped that she had gotten through to him that she wasn't the same person she was when she left. She was no longer a girl whose innocence and nativity drove her to do things. Now it was the deaths of over 400 people that were driving her choices. She wanted to make right by The Glade and Starling City.

She didn't want to fail her city…again.

Roy, Diggle and Felicity watched as Oliver looked at Felicity. He didn't move. He just stared at her really. It looked like her was trying to search her soul for the world's greatest answers to the biggest problems. When he finally said something she couldn't hear it but she wasn't sure that she was supposed to hear it so she waited.

"I don't want you in danger because I couldn't bare it if something happened to you…again." Oliver looked at Felicity with eyes that showed deep care. She sighed and took a step forward, "Oliver, I can't promise you anything. I can guarantee that one day I'll scare the shit out of you just like you did to me when you landed in the back of my car but I can also guarantee that it'd take Kyōryokuna senshi to get me leave Oliver."

Oliver nodded to her when she spoke smiling softly at her use of a foreign tongue, "I don't like either way Felicity. You could have the skills of the most powerful martial artist in the world and I'd still not like it."

"You don't have to like it Oliver. You have to accept it."

Felicity watched as Oliver walked over to the desk Felicity is normally stationed at during missions and sat down in her chair. "What's the plan?" He asked her and she smiled to him softly and thankfully as she began to hash out a plan for the meeting with Detective Lance.


	8. Rooftop Chaos

**A/N: My apologies for the lack of an update this week but I fell ill with kidney stones and was in no shape to write. But I'm in less pain now and able to write so here is chapter eight. As always thank you for your support!**

***Felicity is speaking in Chinese but I chose to write it phonetically so you actually had an idea what she was saying.***

**Big thank you to WinterRain36, the last word Felicity speaks (from the folder) is Jade. I'm sure you can figure out where it's going. (:**

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Felicity looked at herself in the mirror, it had only been a few days since she had last put on her costume but she felt different. The blonde wig with hair shorter and lighter than her normal color, the semi leather jumpsuit and mask, high heeled knee high boots made her feel like a different person, the person she had become. Every time she put them on but tonight she felt different. She felt like she finally had a purpose for putting on the costume. She was going to help The Glades. She was going to make her wrongs right and that made her feel different. It made her feel good.

When she walked out of the bathroom Diggle gave her a nod of approval and handed her an ear piece, "I'll be in the car two blocks east. When you've collected the information meet me there."

"This isn't my first rodeo Digg." She said with a smile as she placed the device in her ear. She fiddled with it a bit before it was totally comfortable then looked at Diggle, "Roy's taking the night off?" He was nowhere to be seen but Diggle didn't seem fazed.

"Thea asked, practically begged Roy to work the club tonight. I don't think I've ever seen Roy so disappointed about working with Thea before."

"Probably because normally there isn't a lot of work going on between those two." Diggle laughed and Felicity smiled. She was worried though, they needed Roy to be in the "Arrow Cave" to receive the information Lance gave them. If he wasn't there the whole plan was useless. "How is Roy going to do his part tonight then?"

"He's already wearing his ear piece. He'll take a 'break' and come down here, receive the intel and go back upstairs like nothing happened."

Felicity nodded but thought it was too risky. Unfortunately there was no other choice unless they were to botch the mission but Felicity wasn't about to let that happened so she decided to cross her fingers in hopes that Roy would be able to pull it off without Thea getting in the way.

Felicity let her thoughts take over until she heard a noise on the stairs. She saw Oliver walking down them with a black velvet bowtie in his hands. When he reached the bottom of the steps he tossed it to Diggle and said, "I just saved Roy from having to wear this. The sad part is that I think he was actually going to wear it until I told Thea to save the formal wear for formal galas."

"Are you sure she wanted that for tonight at the club? I mean, uh, sometimes people like seeing highly attractive males, not that I think Roy's attractive or anything, in nothing but a bowtie." Felicity cursed under her breath and looked at the expression on Oliver's face. She felt a heat rise to her cheeks so she quickly added, "And she's your sister so there's no way that your even thinking about that." Oliver nodded and Felicity swore under her breath again, "God, you'd think almost a year on that island would've taught me a thing or two about my filter." Felicity nervously laughed and ran a hand over face in humiliation.

Oliver smiled slightly at her and her embarrassment before telling his team that he was changing so that they could leave for Felicity's first mission with Team Arrow.

When Oliver walked out he looked at Felicity and said, "We'll take the rooftops. Considering the traffic up there and the conditions we should be there in no time." Felicity laughed but nodded then grabbed her Kali staff from underneath her desk and began her way up and out of the lair.

After a quick communications check they all made their way towards the precinct. Oliver and Felicity started out by making their way to the top of the building. Felicity followed Oliver to the top careful of any open or occupied windows. When she reached top Oliver was waiting for her and he looked ready to go. "The wind will be in our favor tonight," he offered nonchalantly. Felicity nodded and began to walk to the other side of the building, Oliver followed her and they began running towards the precinct.

They were completely silent until they were almost at the precinct. Felicity was content with the silence. She enjoyed it really. The rhythm of their boots hitting the ground beneath them, the whispers of the wind both were very soothing to her. It wasn't until Oliver completely stopped that he spoke to her, "I'll be here. I've got a good vantage point here." Felicity nodded and made her way over to the precinct.

She began to wait for Detective Lance in the shadows on the rooftop of the SCPD precinct. She wasn't worried about Detective Lance being late, he was a cop, after all and meeting with the vigilantes of Starling City did not look good to the rest of the department. While she was waiting she looked out onto the city below her and watched as their broken limbs danced to the songs the hustle and bustle the made.

Felicity, although lost in thought with the city below her, faintly heard the door open so she turned around. There stood Detective Lance with a file folder in his hands. It took him a moment before he noticed her but when he did he walked forward towards her.

"Detective Lance," she said to him quietly.

"I have what he asked for." Felicity nodded and stretched out her hand to receive the file but Detective Lance still held it down at his side.

"Can I ask you something?"

Felicity nodded but cautiously added, "I may decline to answer though."

Detective Lance nodded and formed his question, "Why did he send you? I've read the reports. You and the Green Arrow have only begun to work together recently."

"He and I," Felicity paused trying to formulate an answer that would satisfy all the listening ears. "We're old friends." Detective Lance nodded and held out the file to Felicity but before she could grab it she felt a shift in the air.

She froze and looked around there was nothing in sight that she could see but her gut told her otherwise. She stayed still not wanting to move but she knew that both she and Detective Lance were in the hot seats. She took the file he held out and Felicity heard a dreaded crack through the air. She moved herself in front of where she thought it was coming from but Detective Lance still went down.

Felicity immediately looked at Detective Lance and dropped to her knees trying to figure out how bad his injuries were. As she worked on him Felicity heard Oliver shout in her ear asking if they were alright. All she said was, "Lance is down," hoping that Roy was in the lair already and Oliver was on his way over to the roof.

Felicity found where the bullet was and cursed out loud. She took applied as much pressure that she could to his wound but the blood still seeped out between her fingers. "Roy," She shouted into the microphone on her disguise, "Roy, are you there?"

Felicity waited for a moment and then she heard the sound of metal stairs clanking and muffled chair rolling. "What's wrong?" Roy asked. He sound out of breath but Felicity chose not to dwell on the things that he was probably doing with Thea moments before.

"Call an ambulance. Lance's down." She heard footsteps behind her and turned to Oliver. The look on her face was mixed emotions but the dominant one was fear. She was afraid that they were going to lose Lance that he would be the next name she'd have to add to her list of people she's gotten killed. Oliver squatted down next to her and applied pressure to Felicity's hands on Lance's wound. Even with Oliver's pressure some blood was still seeping out.

"Roy," Oliver shouted. "What's the ETA on the ambulance?"

They heard clanking of keys and some colorful cursing before Roy answered, "ETA's seven minutes."

"He doesn't have that long." Oliver said to the both of them.

Felicity nodded then began talking, "Roy, listen to me. Pull up the program on the desktop with the camera on it. I'm going to walk you through hacking the traffic lights with help of the traffic cams." Oliver looked at Felicity and she looked down at their hands. Blood was still seeping through and Lance was almost unconscious.

"There is a saved program on the desktop; it's next to the traffic cameras you just pulled up. Click it and put in the route the ambulance is taking then run it." She heard Roy begin to click around so she decided to add on, "But Roy, make sure to watch the traffic cams. If the ambulance changes routes, you'll have to reroute the traffic light override."

"Got it." They still heard clicking but it was fast clicking. Felicity thanked her quick decision to put the traffic cams on the desktop and tried to press harder on Lance's chest. When she began hearing sirens of in the distance she looked up at Oliver and saw that he too began to relax a tiny bit.

Lance wasn't out of the woods yet and they couldn't be there when the paramedics arrived. "Diggle," Oliver said. "Call the precinct and ask for Detective Marshall and Yates. Send them to the roof."

"Oliver, we can't just call two cops up here. We're not exactly dressed for the occasion."

"They're pro-vigilante. We'll be fine."

Felicity shook her head and tried to push even harder onto Lance's chest but it wasn't working. "Oliver," she started but the coughing and sputtering from Detective Lance stopped her. They looked down at him and even in the dim light they could see the color leave his face. Oliver cursed under his breath and Felicity cursed internally.

"Guys, Yates and Marshall are on their way up." Diggle said through their ear pieces and Felicity looked expectantly at the door.

When the door did open to officers each around 5' 11" walked out talking to each but suddenly stopped and stood shocked for a moment before Oliver barked, "Yates, Marshall get over here."

The officers nodded and when they reached where they hunched over on Lance's body their faces lost all color. They looked like they were about to be sick. "Ambulance is on its way. We need you to take over apply pressure." Felicity said and the boys dropped to their knees and listened as the pair gave them instructions.

When they were sure that Detective Lance was in good hands they picked up the manila folder that Lance had meant to give Felicity and ran east toward Diggle's car. When they got into Digg's car they threw their equipment on the floor and told Diggle to wait for the ambulance.

"Roy, the ambulance is here now. You can close the program. Hit the button that says exit and type in 654837 then click 'no'." Roy gave an affirmative answer and Felicity relaxed back into her seat when she saw Lance being brought out on the stretcher a moment later.

They waited until Lance was on his was to hospital before giving Digg the go ahead to leave. Felicity looked down at her hands and saw the blood on them. It was still a deep red and there was so much of between her hands and Oliver's. She wasn't sure he was going to make it. Nobody could live after losing that much blood. He should already be dead, Felicity thought to herself.

When they arrived back at the lair Roy was waiting for them in Felicity's chair. He looked glad to see them but when he saw their hands and the crimson color they displayed his face faltered. "He should be at the hospital by now." She said as handed Roy the manila folder and he nodded.

Felicity and Oliver walked to the wash basin and began to scrub their hands of Lance's blood. "Why shoot Lance?" Felicity asked.

"I don't know." Oliver said softly.

"He's not going to make it, is he?" She asked as they finished scrubbing their hands. Felicity grabbed the towel that was hanging up and motioned for Oliver's hands. He gave them to her and she began to dry them, hoping to get any residual traces of blood off his hands.

"It's not likely." Oliver said very quietly and started to dry her hands just like she had done for him. Felicity nodded and tears began to form in her eyes. She knew that she should have this strong of feelings for the Detective but if he were to die it would one more death that was on her shoulders, one more death that could have been prevented.

When they had finished washing his blood off their hands they walked back into the main room of the lair and saw that Roy was leaning on one of the desks with the manila folder in his hands.

"Do any of you speak this language?" Roy asked as he turned the blood stained folder to them.

Felicity reached out with shaky hands and grabbed the folder. She looked at Oliver and back at the folder then glanced back at the folder. There was Chinese on the inside of it, both of them knew what it said but only Felicity knew what it meant.

"Anata wa muzukashiku, jikai tameshite mite kudasai. - Jeido," Felicity read aloud and cursed under her breath.

"What does it mean?" Roy asked confused by Felicity's foreign tongue.

"It means that the island is coming back to haunt Felicity in Starling City." Oliver said.


	9. Plans

**A/N:I hope you all had a very merry Christmas (if you celebrate)! This chapter was **_**hard**_** to write. I got stuck, rewrote it, got stuck again and rewrote it again at least five times. I'm not sure how I feel but I know that the next chapter will have some good things in it. Action is coming for those curious. And I'm sorry. I'm terribly sorry. **

**I'd love to hear your thoughts!**

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Felicity stared at the manila folder in her hands. She knew that a clean escape was too much to dream about let alone actually achieve but she just couldn't fathom what was coming next. She knew the person after her wasn't going to stop until she was six feet under and Oliver wasn't going to let her do this her way but she needed to. She could beat this person, but it wouldn't be easy and it would hurt.

She closed the crimson stained folder and sat in her thoughts for a moment. She began to think of how to defeat the threat and she wasn't thrilled with any of the outcomes she came up with. The cold hard truth was that Felicity would die or someone she truly cared about would die. Felicity accepted death, she knew from the second that she stepped onto Lain Yu that she would no longer die from old age or a freak accident due to her own clumsiness but she would be killed because she now had enemies. She had enemies who were stronger than her, enemies who were smarter than her and worst of all enemies that knew her weaknesses. But what Felicity wouldn't accept was people, people with no connection to the cause, dying for her.

Felicity sighed and placed her head on the desk. She wished nothing more than to be able to go back to last year this time when her biggest worry was Mr. Merlyn and Moria Queen's Undertaking. She wished that she was the girl who didn't know how to kill, who didn't kill anybody. She wished, with all her might that she was the girl without the target on her back.

Oliver walked into the lair an hour after Felicity had loudly asked them to leave, she was lying with head on the desk and her legs were folded up in the chair asleep. She looked troubled, even in her sleep but Oliver couldn't blame her. She just found out that there was a target on her back anyone, even him, would be troubled with that type of information. Oliver sighed and walked over to her. He didn't dare to touch her but he just called her name softly pulling her out of her sleep.

When she awoke she looked just as troubled but offered him a small smile. He returned it and waited for her to say something. "There's so much I can't tell you." She said softly.

He looked at her with soft eyes and said, "Then just tell me what you can."

"I'm going to die." Felicity said. Her eyes locked on his and she saw the anger rise within him. His fists began to clench and unclench and she knew that he was beyond angry but she had to tell him. She needed him to know the outcome, maybe this time it'd hurt less.

"Felicity, how can you say that?" Oliver spoke with a cold empty voice. His emotions were evident everywhere but his voice and it scared Felicity for a moment. She had heard this voice before, not from him but from others, it led to no good. It led to death.

"Oliver!" Felicity raised her voice and he snapped his head up to meet her eyes. "I can't tell you a lot but me dying is the only way this ends well."

"How is that a good way to end things?" Oliver shouted back to her.

Felicity ran a hand over her face and sighed, "Because then you'll still be alive and she'll be dead."

"Who? Felicity, who is after you?"

"I can't tell you." Felicity shook her head and images of her island days popped into her mind. She saw a woman with thick black hair holding the first Kali staff Felicity had ever used in her hands twirling it with ease only gained by complete control and trust in one's weapon. Felicity saw the woman smile and she shook her head to rid herself of the image but it was ingrained in her mind. She'd never forget that day, it was the day she was a given a gift but also learned that Newton wasn't kidding when he said that every action had an equal and opposite reaction.

Felicity looked at Oliver, let a sigh out and said, "Jade, her name is Jade."

Oliver nodded, already knowing that bit of information and asked, "Why does she want you dead."

Felicity looked conflicted and she knew it. She wanted to tell Oliver _everything_ but she knew she couldn't. The less he knew; the least likely it was that Jade would kill him. Felicity decided to go with a half-truth; it was easier than the whole thing, "Why would any woman want to kill another woman?" When she saw that Oliver truly didn't know the answer she continued, "I took her love away from her."

It was true Felicity did kill Jade's love but that wasn't the whole story. The whole story involved too many variables that Felicity never wished to think about again and she knew that Jade knew this. She knew that Jade was forcing her to play this hand.

The look on Oliver's face showed her exactly what she believed to be true, he didn't know she had killed but she decided not to address that as he spoke to her, "And now she wants you dead?"

"She wants me to suffer. When I took her love away from her she suffered the largest loss she ever felt." Felicity's words dawned on her and he cursed under his breath.

"Death is a release from this life," Oliver started to say and Felicity finished with him, "And I have yet to pay my sentence."

They both stood silent for a moment, neither one of them daring to break the spell of silence but Felicity couldn't hold out forever and said, "I don't _want_ to die Oliver but if I can die to protect," _you _almost slipped out of her mouth but she thought better of it and continued with, "those I care about I will. If I'm dead she can't make me suffer by killing those I truly care about."

Oliver forcefully punched the table next to them and it made her jump," Dammit, Felicity!"

She wanted him to understand that this was her choice but she knew that he never would so she looked at him and spoke softly, "If you were me you'd make the same choice Oliver. I know you would, Oliver."

Oliver looked at her and she sensed that this conversation wasn't over but just put on the backburner until a later date and time. Felicity watched as Oliver moved over to the table where the manila folder was, "I think we should go see how Lance is doing."

Felicity sighed and walked over to where he was standing, "I don't know,"

"Felicity, I think we owe him that much." The unspoken words he might diehung in the air. _This is my fault,_ Felicity thought as she nodded to Oliver slowly.

When they arrived at the hospital Felicity began to get lost in her thoughts. All she could think about though was how badly Lance was bleeding when they were on the roof. She knew that the chances of him surviving were very slim. She wouldn't be surprised if he didn't.

Not to anyone's surprise they were told that it didn't look good for Detective Lance but they could go see him nonetheless. Felicity was surprised when she walked in the room and saw that not even Laurel was there. She turned to Oliver and quietly asked, "Where's Laurel?"

Oliver sighed deeply and guided Felicity over to the chairs beside the bed, "Laurel didn't make it out of CNRI."

"No!" Felicity shouted when Oliver uttered the words he so dreaded to speak, "Lance told me that she got out!"

"At first she did, yes. But when she found out that Tommy was still in the building she ran back into save him after I had already left." Oliver took a deep breath and turned to face her, "They died together within minutes of each other."

Felicity stayed silent for a moment before reaching out to grab Lance's hand, "I'm sorry," she spoke softly with a broken voice, "I'm sorry for everything."

Felicity stood up next to the bed and leaned down to say something more into Detective Lance's ear. When she pulled away the monitors started to beep uncontrollably and Oliver pressed the call button on Lance's bedside. Within ten seconds nurses and doctors flooded the room pushing Oliver and Felicity out of the way.

They tried to shock him four times before the doctors turned to look at them and said, "I'm sorry for your loss."

That was it for Felicity. That was her last blow she could take that day she looked at Oliver and instead of finding comfort in his embrace she ran. She left Lance's room with one last look to him and just ran. She could hear Oliver calling her name and following her but she didn't care. She needed to be alone.

The first door she went into was the stairwell door. She debated going down but she decided against it. Instead she ran up the remaining four flights of stairs to the roof and busted out of the door. She looked around and in the distance she could see the precinct. It was dark but she could make out the yellow police tape on the roof and at least one person standing on it.

The realization hit her hard like a ton of bricks.

He was dead.

She couldn't save him.

Or Laurel.

Or The Glades.

And right now she could barely save everyone else she cared about.

She fell to the ground and buried her head in her hands. She just sat there. She didn't cry, no, she didn't know what to cry for. The lost lives of Laurel and Quentin Lance or the possibility of losing everyone she cared about, they all warranted tears but she didn't know what warranted more.

She sat there for a half hour, angry upset and in emotional pain but she didn't move not until she was thinking about the Lance's and an idea struck her._ Maybe I don't have to die_; she thought as she stood up, dusted the dirt off her pants and headed toward Verdant via rooftop.

When she walked into the lair Oliver was pounding on the equipment as she watched for a moment before interrupting. "There might be another way I could do all this without dying," Felicity took a deep breath and waited to see if he'd say anything. He didn't. He just looked at her expectantly, "Oliver, I need you to trust me all the way. This is going to hurt. This is going to open wounds you thought you'd closed up." _This is going to kill you_ she thought to herself.

Oliver didn't look fazed he just nodded and said, "I trust you."

Felicity nodded and spoke a small, "Thank you."

She watched him as he turned back to the dummy he was working on but he stopped, when he felt that she was still staring at him, "He didn't deserve to die."

"No he didn't."

"Oliver, I'm going to kill Jade when the time comes." She said as a matter of fact.

"Felicity,"

"I may have taken her lover but she's taken my sanity, Oliver. She knew what killing Lance would do to me."

"Don't stoop to her level."

"Her level would be to put an arrow in her back. I plan to look her in the eyes when I end her life." Felicity deadpanned.

Oliver said nothing and turned to the dummy and resumed his torture with it. She began to work out her plan in her head and started to gather everything she'd need from the lair. When she had everything she needed she turned to see that Oliver was watching her intently.

Felicity smiled and said, "I'll be leaving in a few minutes. "

Oliver had no idea where she was leaving for but he nodded to her and watched as grabbed all the things she needed in the lair. When she was done gathering her things she stopped and looked at the folder with Lance's blood on it before stuffing inside a plastic baggie and in her purse. "Do you mind if I borrow Diggle for a few days?"

Oliver shook his head but asked, "Felicity what is this other plan?"

"I can't say." Felicity said as she walked towards Oliver, "it's too risky to begin with."

"Then you shouldn't go." Oliver pleaded with her.

"Either I go or I die, Oliver. I'll take my chances." Felicity placed her hands on Oliver's chest and leaned into kiss his cheek. "If we're not back in three days' time…" Felicity couldn't bear to say the words but Oliver heard them loud and clear. Felicity pulled back and walked up the stairs to the club. Right before she reached the top she turned and said, "Say goodbye to Detective Lance for me." Oliver nodded and she continued out of the lair.

The club was empty now. Roy and Thea were busy cleaning up when she spotted Diggle. She walked over to him swiftly and said, "Pack your bags. You and I are going someplace where the weather is always warm and the people are ice cold."


	10. The Consortium

**A/N: Guys, this chapter is a game changer. I drop names like never before. Everyone will be introduced in the next chapter so don't worry if you're confused as to who is who. And if you're curious as to what any of the characters are wearing you can look on Polyvore. I'm jennamckane over there!**

**Huge thanks to WinterRain36 for helping me work out the kinks in this chapter! (:**

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Felicity sat next to John and watched the scenery changed as the moved along the highway. Felicity gave him strict instructions on how they were going to get to where they needed to be and he hadn't questioned her yet. For that, Felicity was grateful. She wasn't ready to explain where they were going and she wasn't exactly sure she could. If she hadn't been involved with them she wouldn't believe it if somebody told her about it.

The instructions involved one day of driving, a three hour plane ride and a boat ride to an undisclosed location. Felicity felt safe knowing that Diggle wasn't going to ask questions but every time she unveiled a piece of information she saw the look in his eyes that screamed curiosity.

Felicity looked at her phone and realized that they had only fifteen minutes before they reached the airstrip with the plane that was waiting for them. She decided that she needed to tell Diggle a few things so he understood everything more, "We're going to an airstrip. Not an airport. So when we arrive, we're to head directly for the plane in hanger 19."

Much to her surprise Diggle said nothing but just nodded. Felicity turned her head back to the scenery and watched as the trees became replaced by buildings. Felicity let herself become lost in her thoughts for the last few minutes of the ride. Her mind went to Oliver and how she was going to explain everything to him. She thought about where they were going and it brought a small smile to her lips. It made happy to be going back to a place where she was truly accepted and loved. _Sure_, she thought, _Oliver might love me but he doesn't accept me. Not this me. _

Felicity watched as Diggle pulled into the airstrip. The hanger they needed was on the north side so she directed him to the correct hanger and waited as she watched him drive. When they reached the hanger she walked into it and began looking for the crew member she had requested. When she found the young woman she began to explain everything to her. The woman nodded listening intently and before Felicity could walk away the woman softly said, "It's good to have you back."

Felicity smiled and made her way onto the plane. Diggle was already waiting for her when she made her way to the passenger area. He was sitting in on of the plush chairs with his phone in his hand, "Oliver's worried about you, you know?"

Felicity decided to ignore the pain in her heart when she thought about Oliver and never coming back to him and instead she spoke with an even voice, "Tell him I'll be fine and that we'll be dropping cell reception soon."

"Felicity," Diggle said softly before she took a seat across from him. "He just doesn't want to lose you again. He cares too much for you."

"He's got a funny way of showing it." she mumbled under her breath while she began to dig through her bag that Diggle had brought on the plane for her. When she found what she needed she popped two of the bright yellow pills into her mouth and took a swig of water. "We'll be flying higher than normal. This helps with the ear popping and nausea," she explained as she held out two for him to take. Diggle looked at her strange but accepted the pills with a small smile.

Felicity waited for the plane's engines to start up and when they did she pulled down the shade on the window, put her seatbelt on and curled herself up into the chair. "Diggle, if I'm not awake 15 minutes before we touchdown be sure to wake me up, please." She asked as she began to let the engines lull herself to sleep.

"Alright, Felicity." Diggle said as he watched the petite girl fall asleep.

When they were up in the air Felicity slept soundly, Diggle felt bad about waking the girl up because she looked so calm but he knew that she'd chew him out if he didn't wake her up. Diggle debating on just calling her name but decided against it and he walked over to Felicity and lightly shook her shoulder. She looked groggy when she woke up and much to his surprise she didn't even dare to try and attack him. He gave her a question look at that and she just smiled and said, "The plane we're on is linked to my time away. It's a safe place for me."

Diggle nodded and watched as Felicity gathered her things in her hands and walked off to the bathroom. She pulled things out of her bag and began to transform herself. She put on her black domino mask and wig before deciding against her full costume. She changed out of her plaid sweater and jeans to throw on a pair of black jeans and a green shirt that reminded her of Oliver. She almost took it off when her mind made that connection but she liked the thought of having him close.

Felicity walked back out into where she and Diggle had been enjoy the plane ride when he made a comment toward her mask and wig, "What's the getup?"

"I'll explain more when we get to where we are going but you need to know this now. Do not under any circumstance call me Felicity."

"At all?" Diggle asked confused with what Felicity was saying. She knew that he was confused but in order to keep herself safe she had to lay down the rules. Diggle was a military man, he'd understand the importance of rules and if he didn't she could always throw him and Zinda in the same room for an hour and she'd straighten out his buttons.

"Then tell me this," he asked as the plane touched down. "What _do_ I call you?"

"The Black Canary." Felicity said and moved her finger to begin playing with the feather necklace she had become so accustomed to wearing. It was given to her as a gift and now she can't go a day without wearing it. When she was back in Starling City she tucked it beneath her shirt, like she was ashamed of it but now she was wearing it proudly like nothing had ever happened. It made her swell with pride but it also made her hate the person who made her feel ashamed of it, Oliver. He didn't accept her therefore he didn't accept the significance of the necklace.

Felicity left the plane first and told Diggle to wait there while she talked to the people on the ground. Felicity walked out and looked for the command building that she needed. When she found it she walked up to it with the confidence of a leader and knocked on the door. It took a moment but she heard movement from the inside and then somebody opened the peephole and asked, "Identification?"

"Black Canary," Felicity said without hesitation and the door opened immediately. Inside was a sea blue wall with three door and two windows. She knew which one she needed but she couldn't help but gaze out of the window wishing that she was already there, where she needed to be.

Felicity sauntered up to the door on the farthest left and knocked twice. When the door opened two people, a red haired woman and a blonde male, were standing there with small smiles on their faces. They looked happy to see and as she was them. She waited a moment before the woman spoke up, "You've come to seek our help, yes?"

"I need to get to the base." They both nodded and looked at her. They smiled for a moment then the man asked, "Are you back?"

"I don't know, Arthur. Maybe." The pair nodded and stepped away from the door inviting her in. Arthur stood by the sea maps and the woman stared out the window. "Do you think it'll be a solo mission?" Felicity asked as she walked to stand behind the woman.

"No, we got word that the storm surrounding the base has intensified. It'll be impossible to get through if only one of us goes." Arthur said to her as he continued to look at the map on the table.

"I need to get there by tonight." Felicity said in a quiet voice.

That was when the woman's head popped up and she turned to face her. "Felicity, are you crazy? It's hard enough to get through the storm already, you know that but with its intensity increasing it'll be all the much harder. "

"I know and I hate to ask this of you but I need to get there tonight. Can you do it?" Felicity asked.

"It won't be easy," Arthur said. "But I think we could do it. Only if Mera comes along and we take the boat first, though."

Felicity watched as Mera and Arthur seemed to have an unspoken conversation above her head. A wave of relief flashed through her when Mera nodded and smiled to him. She knew that her smile meant that she'd go along with it.

"Thank you," She said to the two of them and began to walk out of the room. She stopped short when she remembered Diggle, "I have an unknown with me." She turned slightly to see their reaction but it was just a nod. She thanked them again and walked out of the command building to go retrieve Diggle.

Diggle was standing outside of the plane waiting for her when she walked back. He looked at her for and explanation but she offered none, she just began to walk her way over to a metal boat. "That's the boat we're taking?" Diggle asked. Disbelief filled his words and Felicity just smirked.

"Don't worry about the equipment just worry about the person in control of it."

Diggle stood by and watched as Felicity loaded all of their belongings into the hidden compartments of the boat. It was only moments after that Arthur and Mera walked up. "This is John Diggle." Felicity said as an introduction. John held his hand out and shook both of their hands before they introduced themselves.

"I'm Mera," She pointed to her left and continued, "This is my husband, Aquaman."

Diggle nodded but said nothing about the way the man looked. If being a part of Oliver's team taught him anything it was that things that he thought could never happen would. And this man and woman who looked like they belonged in water, not on land, were proof of it.

"Let's go," Felicity said quickly and the four of them climbed into the boat. Felicity sat behind Mera and Aquaman towards the front of the boat while Diggle sat at the back. Felicity chatted idly with Mera while the boat roared toward their destination. Their conversation was not of much substance but it was nice to talk to a friend again.

When they had been on the water for fifteen minutes Diggle noticed that the sky was getting darker and they were headed right towards what looked to be the worst sea storm he had ever seen. But what alarmed him more was that nobody made much of it, they all continued to chat mindlessly.

After about five minutes of heading directly into the storm Mera stood up and said, "The wind is about to get dangerous. We won't be able to hear each other so make sure to follow our leads."

Diggle nodded along with Felicity and sure enough within seconds the wind became so bad that nobody could see a thing. Except for Aquaman and Mera, they seemed fine. Unfazed by the wind and the impending storm they were sailing themselves into.

Felicity watched carefully as Mera began look at her husband and back at the two of them. She knew them well enough to know that they were having a conversation without actually talking about the storm and how hard it was going to be when they hit the full force of it.

The boat shook and rain began to fall as the wind continued to whip in their faces. Felicity knew it was useless to try and tame her wig that was blowing around so she just let her hair blow every which way waiting for the boat to reach the middle of the storm.

The boat stopped shaking as violently and the storm began to lessen. Mera and Arthur stood up and Mera turned to them, "Black Canary, you know how this works. I can only manipulate the water for a short amount of time as can my husband so when we say jump,"

"We jump. Got it!" Felicity interjected as she stood up and motioned for Diggle to do so himself. It took the two of them, Mera and Aquaman, to control enough of the water to make a hole big enough that Felicity and Diggle could jump through. When they did Felicity offered her thanks and grabbed Diggle's hand to pull him with her.

When Felicity felt the familiar falling sensation she let go of Diggle's hand so she could start to brace herself against the incoming landing. When she landed she made she her knees were bent but Diggle did not and he landed on his back with the air knocked out of him. He looked up at her and saw the smirk on her face when she offered her hand to him. "I did that too my first time down here. You learn to brace the fall."

"I don't know about that." Diggle said shaking his head and dusting off his pants. "Where are we?" He asked as her followed Felicity throughout the long white hallway she knew so well.

"The entrance hall of The Consortium," Felicity finally said as they rounded the final corner before the actual entrance.

"The what?"

"The Consortium, it's a group of people like Aquaman, Mera, me and some others who are here to help make our world a better place." Felicity said as they reached the door. She hit the buzzer and waited for the person on the other side of the door to answer.

"Name and alliance," The female voice answered.

"The Black Canary. Good. John Diggle. Currently unaligned."

"Welcome back, Miss." The voice said as the door opened to reveal a hallway unlike the one they were in. The hall in front of them was painted dark blue and there were pictures on the wall with little plaques beneath them. Felicity stepped inside and expectantly held out her hand when two ear buds and a settings pack were dropped into her hand.

"Take these." Felicity said as she put her own inside her ear and the pack on her hip. "Testing, 1. 2. 3."

"Loud and clear, Black Canary." Another female voice said through the ear bud. Felicity smiled and laughed into the ear bud, "I never thought I'd be back here so soon."

"Neither did we," The voice continued, "Why are you here?"

"Hang on," Felicity said as she switched over from one-to-one communication to overhead. "All members on the east wing please meet in the conference room."

After she switched the device back over she said, "Sorry, about that Vixen. See you in a few?"

"Of course." Vixen said through the ear bud and Felicity smiled. She turned to Diggle and looked at how he was taking in the walls. They had yet to walk past her picture but she knew he had hundreds of questions, one's that she would answer because The Consortium was something she _could_ talk about but it just hurt too much to do so. Leaving was the hardest choice she made and now here she was taking everything in again like she had never left in the first place.

They passed Felicity's picture on the wall right before they made their last turn which shocked Felicity. She was shocked. She would have thought someone would have replaced her by now. She left, she wasn't their leader anymore so why was her picture still the last on the wall?

When they rounded the corner she saw the glass conference room with everyone already waiting there. All of them were in plain clothes like her and they all had on the standard domino masks issued to those inside of The Consortium. She smiled when she opened the door and saw all the smiles she was greeted with. This was acceptance. These people accepted her.

"Hi," she said as walked into the conference room. They all offered their greetings and sat down at the table in the middle of the room. She looked for an empty chair but the only one open was the one at the head of the table, the one for the leader. "Guys, what is this about?"

"We didn't pick a new leader," An African woman with short black hair and a tall stature sitting to the right of the head of the table said.

"Why the hell not," She said as she took her seat, Diggle sat behind her on the couch watching Felicity interact with the six other members at the table she was sitting at.

"Don't get your feathers in a bunch, _Canary_," A male with black hair spoke up. Felicity snapped her head toward him and rolled her eyes.

"My feathers aren't in a bunch _Dick_. If anyone's feathers are in a bunch it's yours."

"You could solve that, you know." Dick replied smoothly.

Felicity rolled her eyes and watched him for a moment before saying, "I told you, _Dick_. It's not going to happen. Not in this lifetime." Felicity emphasized his name and everybody else in the room laughed. The African woman laughed along with them but also said, "Come on Canary. You know it's killing 'em."

"He deserves it, Vixen. You know that." Felicity said with a laugh and Vixen joined in.

The whole table watched as Dick looked like a little boy who was just told he couldn't have a piece of candy and Felicity just smirked. She was glad to be back but she needed to get down to business.

Felicity looked around the table, she identified with each of these people in some way. These were the good people, the one's she could trust and yet she was hesitating. She pushed her fears to the side and spoke with her authoritative voice, "Jade's placed a target on my back. I think she finally figured out I'm the one who killed," Felicity stopped short and glanced at Diggle before finishing, "her lover."

"That's why you're back?" Vixen asked.

"I can't do this on my own, Mari." Felicity said as she looked at her hands.

"You won't." A woman, who had remained completely silent until now had spoken up. Felicity looked shocked but she still smiled at the woman.

"Cassandra's right," Dick said.

She smiled her thanks and looked at the group of people in front of her. She was entirely grateful for them and she couldn't wait until Diggle met them all too. She knew he'd love them as much as she did. They were her family too and she learned that family loves family no matter what.


	11. The Good, The Bad and The Sneaky

**A/N: Thank you for over 100 reviews! That's about twice as many as I was expecting- so thank you from the bottom of my heart! I'm glad you guys are so excited about the new characters. I am too! Again if you're curious as to what anybody is wearing feel free to look at JennaMcKane on polyvore.**

**And thanks again to WinterRain36 for the inspiring talks and helping me through my ruts! You're spectacular! **

* * *

Felicity sat at the table and got caught up on life down under in The Consortium world. She missed them, even most of the people who weren't in the room right now. She was still angry that they hadn't picked a new leader but they fell right back into place so Felicity wasn't too mad at them, especially since her next in line wasn't in the room but on the west wing and that made Felicity shudder.

The members sat at the table conversing for a while until Felicity turned around to face Diggle, "You might want to meet the good half of the team we'll be working with." Felicity smiled as Diggle stood up and walked over to where they were sitting.

Everybody at the table stood up and made their way over to them. Felicity took in their appearances, they all wore plain clothes and the same necklace she had on. Each of their outfits reflected who they were, not normal business attire. "They're good the good guys," Felicity saw Diggle nod and she went to make her first introduction but stopped short, "Unless alone or in the presence in one of these members you are not to say their real names. Got it?"

Diggle nodded and Felicity began to introduce everybody, "This," she said pointed to the African woman standing on her right, "is Mari McCabe or Vixen." Mari stuck out her hand to be shaken and Diggle shook it firmly before Felicity continued on. "She has the ability to take up any trait of an animal she's come in contact with. Secrets are never kept from her," She joked.

Diggle laughed and Felicity moved on to the next person, a young woman with brown hair that reached her shoulders and hazel eyes. Felicity waited a moment to see if the woman wanted to introduce herself and when the woman nodded she said, "I'm Kendra Saunders or Hawkgirl." Diggle shook her hand and offered a hello before the next person said their dues.

"I'm Dick or Nightwing," the man interjected. He was 5' 10" standing shorter than Kendra due to the heels she was wearing. His hair was black and his eyes were as blue as the ocean that concealed The Consortium.

Diggle nodded and looked at Felicity. Felicity laughed and said, "He's a player but his skills are extremely useful from time to time."

"Oh you like it," Dick said and Felicity rolled her eyes.

"I'm not your type; I'm not a red head." Felicity deadpanned before watching Diggle move onto the next woman. Felicity smiled, she had no doubt that the woman Diggle was about to meet would be someone he'd get along with well.

"I'm Zinda Blake," she said as she offered her hand for him to shake. When he shook it she added, "Lady Blackhawk."

Diggle nearly dropped his hand out of hers when she told him her moniker. He had heard of the Blackhawks and knew about the one Lady Blackhawk but by the look on his face, he couldn't believe that the woman in front of him was _the_ Lady Blackhawk. She smiled and took a step back into line with the rest of the members.

A short woman, reaching to be Felicity's height with the boots she was wearing held out her hand and said, "Cassandra Cain, Black Bat." Diggle shook her hand and watched as she seemed to be taking him in, studying his body language.

"That's everybody good on the core team," Felicity said, "Well except for the evils but you already know some of them so that won't be too hard to digest." Diggle nodded and Felicity pointed to him, "Oh gosh, I almost forgot, this is John Diggle." She said to the team and they all nodded to him.

She looked at her team in front of her and began to think of plans to stop Jade but none of them were worthy enough. She knew she couldn't be the only brain on this equation. "We need to get to the command room," she said. The group nodded to her and she continued, "I don't think they're going to like that I'm back."

"No they're not," Mari said as she and the rest of the team began to move out of the conference room down to the command center. The hallways were all painted blue like the sea and the doors on every public room were glass. When they reached the command center there were a multitude of people inside. Everyone's head turned when they walked in and they all stopped working. They all turned to her and she saw their domino masks gracing their faces just like the last time she saw them all.

"You're back," a girl with brown hair, brown eyes and legs for days gritted out.

Felicity chuckled softly and said, "I am. For now," she looked around the room and counted out all the team members that she'd need. She wasn't too excited about how things were going to have to go down but sometimes working with the bad guys helped immensely. After a moment of looking around she cleared her throat and asked, "Can everyone in support team please go to their barracks?"

She watched as eight women shuffled off into their own separate wings. Five went to the west wing, three to the east and Felicity smiled contently because the numbers were still in perfect ratio.

"Diggle, meet the "evil" half of the core team," Felicity said.

Diggle looked around and then his eyes landed on a woman with dark black hair, a black shirt and red pants. "You're working with The Huntress," he said surprised.

Felicity smirked and said, "We're on decent terms depending on the day. "

The Huntress laughed and said, "It's always nice when two people have a strong amount of dislike for the same person." Felicity smiled at The Huntress, she had become her friend in a way. She was one of two evils who knew her identity and she would happily listen to her bash Oliver for hours on end.

Felicity changed her position from facing Diggle to facing the "evils". "Would you like me to introduce to you the rest of the team?"

Diggle looked at them and saw what Felicity saw the first time she stepped foot in The Consortium. She saw that everybody there was deadly but for some reason or another had come to work together for the common greater good. She liked that about all of them, even if she hated what they did when they weren't apart of The Consortium.

Diggle nodded to Felicity and she didn't hesitate with introductions, "You already know The Huntress and I'm sure you've hear of her," a woman stepped forward she was wearing an all-black outfit except for the dark red lipstick that graced her lips and the gold necklace all of the members had on. "This is Catwoman."

Diggle shook the hand of the Gotham cat burglar and waited for Felicity to continue, "This is Killer Frost," Felicity said as she put her hand out in front of his. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Diggle nodded and Killer Frost made a comment under her breath about men that nobody quite caught. Felicity watched as Diggle shook the remaining member's hand, Talia al Ghul former leader of The Consortium and clear enemy of Felicity. Talia was the leader of The Consortium for three years before Felicity showed up. Two months after she showed up she challenged her to a fight for fun but the stakes were higher than Felicity could imagine. If Talia won Felicity was to hand in her necklace and leave for good. If Felicity won though, she would take Talia's spot as leader of The Consortium and the core team.

Felicity thought back to the day when she was declared the leader of The Consortium. It was about two months into her stay and everybody was training in the designated area. Talia was looking for a new person to challenge and her eyes landed on Felicity. At first Felicity was flattered, then scared and then determined. If she could beat Talia then she'd be able to prove that she belonged there.

"Black Canary," Talia said when her eyes landed on Felicity. "You up for a match?"

Felicity looked around to all the people she had recently become friends with, everybody except Cassandra and Dick were in the room but they would have nodded their heads too if they were there Felicity guessed.

Felicity nodded and decided to make things interesting and asked, "What do you get out of it?"

Talia looked at Felicity and smiled, "The satisfaction of being unbeaten and taking down a member of the 'good team',"

Felicity felt a bit of pride rise within her. Four months ago, before the island, she would have looked at Talia with fear but now she decided to have a little bit of fun with some of her new found skills. Felicity looked at Talia and said, "And if I beat you?"

Talia scoffed and laughed like it was the most ridiculous thing she had heard, "You can have my spot as leader."

Everybody, both the good side and the evil side, gasped with Talia spoke her words. Felicity though kept a blank stare and just nodded. She looked at Talia and said, "Alright, let's do this."

Felicity and Talia wasted no time getting into the fight. They spent a good fifteen minutes fighting in hand to hand just blocking each other's moves before Felicity landed a punch. It was on Talia shoulder so it forcefully turned her around away from Felicity and she used that moment to pull something out of her sports bra. To her, this was the distraction that she needed to win the match. She threw the device that was blinking red and took two steps back.

Talia was so focused on the blinking thing flying through the air that when she heard the sonic boom go off she was already hitting her head against the wall on the other side of the training gym.

Felicity watched as Talia slumped over. She had no doubt that Talia's eardrums were ringing and her head felt like she had just woken up with the hangover from hell. Felicity walked over to Talia and watched as she tried to open her eyes and stop the ringing in her ears. A smirk filled Felicity's face when she crouched down and said, "Let me help you with that."

With one punch to the jaw the ringing stopped and Talia was unconscious.

It was safe to say that after the fight Felicity and Talia were clear enemies only associating themselves with each other when truly needed. At one point it got so heated in the command center that Frost threatened to kill them both if they didn't stop. Felicity wasn't proud of that moment but it happened nonetheless.

Felicity saw that when Diggle shook Talia's hand an overly ill thought crossed into her mind but she saw her run a finger over her necklace and her eyes went back to the same hatred they always carried not intensified like before. The necklace, the one they all wore, seemed to do the same things for everybody. It linked them together and calmed them all at once even though they weren't all on the same side.

"Why are you back," Talia's voice rose her from her musings and she turned all attention to the team in front of her. Her voice was laced with her usual venom but Felicity sensed that there was even more than there was before she left.

"I need the team's help," Felicity said simply. The heads of The Huntress, Frost and Catwoman all snapped to attention. They looked at Felicity with eager eyes, "This is a job for all of us. I need you guys to be a part of it."

"And what is it exactly we'll be doing?" The Huntress asked with clear curiosity.

"Taking down the Jade Canary," Felicity said with a strong voice. Talia looked at Felicity with wide eyes she was used to some of Felicity's outrageous missions but this one was a suicide attempt and she knew it.

"Are you crazy?" Talia asked and Felicity smiled to her a held back a laugh. "Sure the ten of us are good but are we _that_ good?"

Felicity looked at Talia and said, "We've got Vixen and Frost on our side. Plus Black Bat, you and me would be able to take her in hand to hand combat." Felicity watched as Talia scowled and looked at the rest of the evils. Frost stood behind them just observing, never truly happy to be within the command center but always eager to go on a mission. Catwoman walked up to Talia and whispered something in her ear then looked over to Felicity.

Talia scowled and then asked, "Are we to kill The Jade Canary?"

Felicity nodded and heard Mari gasp behind her, "Yes, The Jade Canary is to be killed. But only on my call." They all nodded satisfied with her answer and Felicity turned around to face the good members of the team she saw the shocked looks on all of their faces. "I've made my intentions clear. You all know that Jade won't stop until she gets what she wants."

"Which is?" The Huntress poked in.

"She wants me to suffer and the best way to do that,"

"Is to kill the ones you love." Catwoman spoke up. She was not a stranger to that type of suffering so she knew exactly how it worked. At first it crushed you; you didn't know how to move on. Then it consumed you, all you could think about was how much you lost. And finally when you thought you had seen the worst of it, you're grounded. Stuck in the same place mourning the same things, it becomes your grounding point, where all your decisions are based from. If you're good, you'll use all those feelings to do good things. If you're evil you'll use those feelings to seek out revenge and it'll eat you up worse than initial blows did.

"Yes," Felicity answered somberly. She watched as Mari's expression changed from the outrage to acceptance. Mari walked towards Felicity and placed her hand on her shoulder. Felicity smiled and silently thanked her.

"I want to make this clear though," everyone watched intently and waited for Felicity's actions. "I may have strong armed many of you into missions before," she looked at Dick who smirked at her words, "But this is your choice. If you want out, I'll take no offense to it. I encourage it, actually. This is dangerous and it'll be all consuming." Felicity's unspoken words were heard throughout the room, _you're likely to die._

She watched as one by one, they all stepped forward, first Mari, then Zinda, followed by Catwoman and The Huntress, then Dick and Cassandra followed by Killer Frost and Kendra. The only one who hesitated for a full moment was Talia she looked at Felicity and gritted out, "Why should I agree to do this?"

"I told you, you don't have to. But if you're looking for a reason you'll never find one and I can't give you one Talia. We're too different for that to be possible but I can say that you'd be a great asset to the team, as you always are."

Felicity watched as Talia thought the choice over. She muttered something under her breath in Arabic as she took her step forward. Felicity nodded her thanks and Talia just continued to scowl at her.

Diggle watched all of this before he asked, "What's the plan?"

* * *

Oliver sat in his car watching hanger 19. Diggle's text provided little information but his GPS told him all that he needed. Maybe he shouldn't have done the GPS trace but he was not losing Felicity again. Not when he just got her back. They went to an airstrip where things were so tightly under guard he couldn't even pay his way through the front gate or flirt to get the flight plans. So he sat and watched as two people entered the hanger. He couldn't see much of them but he could see that they had black domino masks on, much like the green on he was given while Felicity was away. A woman with fiery red hair and another with hair as dark as night, both entered the hanger. They stayed in his view for only a minute before disappearing.

About twenty minutes later he heard the engines of a plane rev up and watched as the plane began to make its way towards the sky. Oliver sat there for a moment before deciding to turn the car off and reach into the back to grab his overnight bag and Arrow equipment. Including the mask, which became a more suspicious each time he thought about it.


End file.
